Trachsel, Troxel, Troxell, et. al. The Project to Recover History

I have had a project on the back burner for many years, namely to discover what I could about the history and heritage of the Troxel(l) family. My father's 1st cousin, Richard Maloy Troxel, has compiled the definitive genealogy of the family beginning with the brothers who came over from Switzerland in the 1730s. His books, Troxel(l) Trails and the second edition Troxel(l) Trails and Tales  are not only a story about the family, they are a living history of the development of this nation, The United States of America. It is the period beyond that, reaching back into the Swiss Alps that has captured my curiosity and imagination.  How much was there to learn, what could be learned?

(Note) the name Troxel is only one of many English variations of the old Swiss name Trachsel. Trachsel is a two syllable word pronounced "Trach" as in the composer Bach and "sel" like your cell phone. The first Trachel immigrants rolled their "r" which made it even more difficult for their English neighbors to understand, thus began the long pilgrimage to find the best English spelling. Now I am interested in the Trachsel family which sprang out of Switzerland many generations ago.

The first obstacles to be overcome in this search include the Swiss/German language, which is the language in which most of this story is written, and learning Swiss history and culture. Neither of these is an easy task, but at least I have a head start on learning German language.

The Family Crest awarded to one of my ancestors in Lenk, Canton Bern, Switzerland.